China’s currency sprints into the fast lane

Rocketing demand for the Chinese yuan suggests that China may be making the leap from a niche to a mainstream holiday destination, according to Post Office Travel Services.

In response, the UK’s largest provider of foreign currency is gearing up for the Olympic Games by making the yuan available on demand at its major bureaux de change branches.

Over the past three years Post Office bureaux de change across the UK have tracked a growth in sales for Chinese yuan of more than 337 per cent. This trend tallies with the experience of tour operators, who report a quadrupling of China bookings in the same period.

With the Beijing Olympic Games now less than six months away and interest in holidays to China reaching a peak, the Post Office expects demand to mushroom during 2008. It has responded by adding Chinese yuan to its top tier of currencies, available on demand in 1,400 Post Office bureaux de change branches nationwide.

China also looks to be one of 2008’s better value destinations for UK holidaymakers. According to the Post Office, sterling’s drop in value of less than eight per cent against the Chinese yuan compares favourably with falls of over 13 per cent against the euro and other major currencies.

Focusing on August and the Olympics Games, the omens already look good. According to Sportsworld, the UK’s official Olympics ticket and tour operator, ticket sales are 100 per cent ahead of Athens at the same stage four years ago and 15-20 per cent up on those for Sydney, widely held to be the most successful games.

Some tickets – for popular sports like swimming, track cycling and sailing as well as for the opening and closing ceremonies - are already sold out. Others, for key events of interest to the UK public, including athletics, rowing and hockey, are selling fast, according to Jeff Hunter of Sportsworld. At current levels of demand, Sportsworld expects tickets to sell out completely by the second quarter of 2008.

But the impact of the Olympic Games should reap tourism benefits for China for years to come. Post Office head of travel, Helen Warburton said: “Past experience has shown that the high profile which results from staging the Olympic Games attracts many thousands of people to visit host countries. For example, over eight million people visited Sydney’s Olympic Park last year, almost double the number in 2000 when the Games were staged.“

“The evidence suggests that putting the spotlight on China will help to accelerate the growth in tourism already underlined by the Post Office’s currency sales growth of more than 337 per cent over the past three years.”

UK tour operators share her optimism. Long haul specialist Hayes & Jarvis is already reporting record bookings for travel before and after the Olympic Games. Its business is up 40 per cent for 2008 with some shorter three-city tours of Beijing, Shanghai and Xian almost sold out in September and October, at a stage when the operator would normally expect to be only around 10 per cent sold.